Art House BlogArt House Bloghttp://www.arthouseamerica.com/blog/2015-02-26T15:19:55ZSquarespace1,000 Dayshttp://www.arthouseamerica.com/blog/1000-days.htmlMolly Nicholas2015-02-26T15:02:00Z2015-02-26T15:02:00ZNever mind that this child is in a different country than the one for which we have been approved. Never mind that moving forward with this child will mean redoing much of our paperwork, once again driving around to banks, doctor’s offices, police departments, and myriad government buildings to get new documents printed, notarized, and certified. My friend Jill has a song that sings, “And then out of nothing, it’s telling me something I didn’t know that I knew.” There is a mysterious kind of knowing that can happen to a person, and it seems all the more sweet and supernatural when it comes to your life partner in the same time and space. ]]>Learning to Readhttp://www.arthouseamerica.com/blog/learning-to-read.htmlKate Harris2015-02-26T15:01:00Z2015-02-26T15:01:00ZLike any matter of taste, reading well is an exercise in preference, but as I consider the discovery of most of my favorite and abiding titles, I find that each one either came from following a strong writer, mimicking a good reader, or trusting a well-regarded “leader.” And, more often than not, the best of the best cross-check against all three! ]]>Saving My Lifehttp://www.arthouseamerica.com/blog/saving-my-life.htmlKatie Noah Gibson2015-02-26T15:00:00Z2015-02-26T15:00:00ZSo, this winter, I’m finding it worthwhile — even necessary — to name the things that are saving my life. Sometimes I scribble down a list in my journal (a gift from my sister last Christmas, and itself a lifesaver). Sometimes I take the time to write a blog post, with pictures of those purple tulips or a brave blue winter sky. Most often, I’m trading daily texts with my friend Laura, both of us doing our best to find and name the things that are saving our lives. The act of naming them often becomes a lifesaver, a welcome glimpse into the brighter side of this world.]]>It Starts with the Words: A Conversation Between Steve Taylor and Aaron Belzhttp://www.arthouseamerica.com/blog/it-starts-with-the-words-a-conversation-between-steve-taylor.htmlAaron Belz2015-02-12T18:20:17Z2015-02-12T18:20:17ZIt was the hardest assignment I’ve ever been given. It had to be a certain length. It had to work musically with the tone of the visuals. It had to comment on what was going on onscreen without describing it, so it had to add subtext. I loved the challenge, and I’m still really happy with the final product. Auden claimed to have written a poem in every meter style that had ever existed. And if someone came up with one he hadn’t heard of before, he’d write it down and try to create a new poem in that meter. Pure craft, right?]]>An Antidote for Cynicismhttp://www.arthouseamerica.com/blog/an-antidote-for-cynicism.htmlStephen Lamb2015-02-12T01:48:03Z2015-02-12T01:48:03ZWhen I was a child, I lived in fear. Now that I’m a man, I’m learning — slowly, it sometimes seems — how to act out of love; love for my friend, love for my neighbor, love for myself. Love grounded in particulars, freed from the burden of empty rhetoric. Love that honors the dignity and complexity of every person I meet.]]>Reading Fifty-Two Bookshttp://www.arthouseamerica.com/blog/reading-fifty-two-books.htmlLindsay Crandall2015-02-12T01:42:58Z2015-02-12T01:42:58ZThe real answer is that I choose books over the internet and social media. I choose to read books rather than browse Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. I choose books over blogs and forums and e-mail. The answer is not finding the time, it’s choosing how to spend it. Instead of going online frequently, I put limits on my social media time in favor of moderation. At the end of the day, for me, reading a book is more edifying and better for my well-being than reading through social media posts or falling down rabbit holes online. For me, it’s about putting the phone down and choosing something else. There is enough time for things we value. ]]>A Tree, an Axe, and a Way of Seeinghttp://www.arthouseamerica.com/blog/a-tree-an-axe-and-a-way-of-seeing.htmlDenis Haack2014-12-18T19:51:00Z2014-12-18T19:51:00ZI have, in other words, no desire to go back in history. But I do yearn to see trees with greater clarity. I want to see them as my fellow creatures, called into existence by God, with a dignity and significance all their own. I want to realize that at the creation they were made to be trees, for God’s glory, and they have done so — it is my race of creatures that refuses to abide by God’s word. I want to know more about chlorophyll and cambium layers and see in them glimpses of glory that shine with hints of a transcendent power beyond my knowing.]]>Communionhttp://www.arthouseamerica.com/blog/communion.htmlLaura Turner2014-12-18T19:50:00Z2014-12-18T19:50:00ZWe didn't totally understand what Communion was. At least I didn’t. If it was magical to the Catholics, literally becoming body, and blood, and meaningless to atheists, a bizarre religious ritual, I suppose I fell somewhere in between. We read no books about Communion, took no classes to prepare, made no declarations of faith besides the act itself. Now I see the act is its own declaration, its own remembrance. But I didn't know then.]]>Seldom Suppress a Generous Impulsehttp://www.arthouseamerica.com/blog/seldom-suppress-a-generous-impulse.htmlMeredith Schultz2014-12-04T18:13:07Z2014-12-04T18:13:07ZWhen I was young, it struck me as strange that my father enjoyed giving so much, but years later, I am finally beginning to understand. He has become so accustomed to the thrill of working alongside his heavenly father to care for the needs of others that temporal goods have lost hold on his affections. As the earthly tent wears thin, he sees with ever increasing clarity the bountiful riches of God’s economy. One day, I hope that I will see it too.]]>Eulogyhttp://www.arthouseamerica.com/blog/eulogy.htmlTowles Kintz2014-12-04T17:56:40Z2014-12-04T17:56:40Z. . . so much of what Doll taught me had to do with working around missteps — my own, and others’ — with flexibility and grace. And, posthumously, that she’s redefined the meaning of hospitality for me, so that I think of it not only in its traditional sense, but also in the day-to-day as I “host” my children, their friends, my husband, and our friends and family. Doll cared for and catered to her guests. She hoped to spoil them with the best of what she had to offer — a thing that, when translated, came down to great love and a capacity to supply equal amounts of comfort and whimsy.]]>